Methods for treating dental conditions using tissue scaffolds

Abstract

The invention provides methods, apparatus and kits for regenerating dental tissue in vivo that are useful for treating a variety of dental conditions, exemplified by treatment of caries. The invention uses tissue scaffold wafers, preferably made of PGA, PLLA, PDLLA or PLGA dimensioned to fit into a hole of corresponding sized drilled into the tooth of subject to expose dental pulp in vivo. In certain embodiments the tissue scaffold wafer further comprises calcium phosphate and fluoride. The tissue scaffold wafer may be secured into the hole with a hydrogel, a cement or other suitable material. Either the wafer or the hydrogel or both contain a morphogenic agent, such as a member encoded by the TGF-β supergene family, that promotes regeneration and differentiation of healthy dental tissue in vivo, which in turn leads to remineralization of dentin and enamel. The tissue scaffold may further include an antibiotic or anti-inflammatory agent.

Description

[0001] This application is a Continuation claiming benefit under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 684,226, filed Oct. 10, 2003, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] This invention relates generally to the field of treating dental conditions, particularly caries, and more particularly to methods, compositions and devices that promote in vivo regeneration and remineralization of dentin and enamel by inserting tissue scaffold materials in vivo, into holes drilled into a tooth having need of dentin regeneration. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] The development of tissue scaffold materials for regenerating tissue ex vivo and for uses of such ex vivo regenerated tissue / scaffold combinations to treat patients in vivo has been a growing subject of interest in the prior art. Of relevance to the invention described hereinafter are prior art uses of tissue scaffolds for ex vivo culture of oral tissues. [0004] U.S. Pat. No. 5,8...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Although this patent discloses a utility for using scaffold material for ex vivo propagation of oral tissues, it fails to disclose any therapeutic methods for the use of such ex vivo cultured cells for treating teeth in vivo, and fails to disclose the use of tissue scaffolds in the absence of ex vivo culturing.

Then a thermodynamic instability is created by reduction of the pressure so that the dissolved gas nucleates and forms gas pores within the copolymer, causing expansion and fusion of the copolymer particles, creating continuous polymeric matrix still containing the particulate material.

However, no actual method was described for the use of such matrices in vivo without previously seeding the matrix and culturing the cells ex-vivo.

Such large macrospores would not be suitable for regenerating dentin or other oral tissues in the teeth.

While numerous utilities of this patterning technique are disclosed, the patent fails to teach any therapeutic method that uses the patterned tissue scaffolds for a therapeutic treatment of dental conditions in vivo.

Such resins are disclosed to also be useful as components of dentifrice products are not suitable as a tissue scaffold to promote regeneration of the cell types that are required for healthy dentin.

Moreover, such resins are believed to leave organic residue upon contact with teeth.

While the experiment demonstrated the potential feasibility of regenerating whole teeth by ex vivo seeding and in vivo culturing of isolated dental tissue, Young et al, however, did not disclose any method of treating dental tissue in vivo.

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